Microaggression

As a female student-athlete, I have experienced an absurd amount of people telling me that I am not strong enough, not tall enough, not good enough, etc. I have had people tell me that my sport is somehow easy just because it is a female sport. Male athletes have, for some reason, always talked me down for being a confident athlete. Male athletes have laughed at me for my lifting abilities because even my maximum was only their minimum. I have always been a strong believer that males and females are vastly different for each other, and I would never think that I am stronger than my male athlete counterparts, but the microaggressions behind their actions and words towards me are unnecessary. I hoped that becoming a collegiate athlete would mean that I succeeded to the best of my ability and would finally be left alone by male athletes that think they have the right to tell me my worth in my sport, but it has not changed very much since getting to college. Hopefully one day things will be different. At Molloy, I have seen an enormous amount of micro affirmations. I have met some of the nicest people that I know at this school. Everyone holds doors for people; I have many small talk conversations throughout the day with people that I hardly know; someone is always offering kind words or even just a smile; and I am also blessed with a very loving and caring athletic faculty. There is never a day that goes by on this campus that someone does not put a smile on my face or vice versa.